


It Should Have Been Easy

by Missblondee



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, post NYSM2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-07-27 15:51:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7624657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missblondee/pseuds/Missblondee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It should have been easy. Months after their performance in London, the Horsemen receive a new target from the Eye: Expose Novartis and return the millions stolen. Simple enough, nothing the Horsemen haven't done before. It should have been easy. But that's before the Horsemen find that they were expected and their opponent had some serious leverage over them. Now the Horsemen, along with the Eyes best hacker, must expose the company, rescue an old friend, and still do it all with a bang!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I only own the characters and plot lines that weren't in the movies. Novartis is not based on a real company though it shares the same name as a real company. All rights to their respective owners.

It had been a few months since their last show in London. The Horsemen took full advantage over the break they had to tour the city, practice and refine their magic, and to just relax without the constant threat of an unseen enemy. Jack and Lulas relationship had definitely gotten stronger, especially since Lula was becoming closer to the original Horsemen trio. Dylan had taken position as Head of the Eye with Daniel as his right hand. Merritt had continued to further Jack in the ways of hypnotism and Jack returned the favor by teaching more card tricks. But as much as they all appreciated the break, being the performers they were-they began to grow restless each and everyday without something to plan or an audience to entertain. As fate would have it, all that was about to change.

Merritt and Daniel sat across from each other in the dining room waiting for the others. It was nearing seven and Daniel was getting impatient.  
"Jack and Lula should be back by now, El Rancho is not that far away!" He complained to Merritt as his stomach growled. He knew it was a bad idea to send those two anywhere together alone-especially when his hungry stomach was waiting.  
"You just need to be more patient." Merritt shot back with a grin.  
"Says the man who already has a napkin in his lap and is holding both his fork and knife!"  
"Hey, I never said I needed patience. Plus, I like to see it more as being prepared."  
Daniel rolled his eyes and checked his phone again. Dylan walked in, his eyes still glued to his laptop as he continued to read whatever was on it.  
"Anything good?" Merritt questioned, leaning to get a better look. Dylan promptly closed the laptop and set it on the counter before sitting down at the head of the table.  
"I'll tell you when everyone is here."  
A few moments passed before Lula and Jack burst through the door holding bags of carry out. Jacks face was flush and Daniel didn't even want to know why. His own face must have said as much because Lula pointed and finger at him.  
"Don't even start." She said as the two set down the bags of food.  
"Long story short someone tried to steal my purse but Jack caught up to him just in time." Jack blushed slightly at this as he began to pass out the Togo containers.  
"I'm surprised Lula, no one is ever able to get that close to you without Jack noticing." Daniel teased, causing Merritt and Dylan to laugh quietly.  
"There was a dog." Jack mumbled quietly as he took a seat next to Merritt and across from Lula, who sat next to Daniel.  
"What now?" Merritt questioned with a wink.  
"A dog." Jack replied shortly. Lula rolled her eyes with a smile and opened up her togo container.  
"You never cease to amaze Mr. Wilder."  
The five quickly began to eat before Merritt remembered.  
"Hey "Bossman"-" Dylan cringed- "what was that on your laptop?" He asked, handing his empty container to Jack whi was collecting them to throw away.  
"Oh my goodness do we have a new mission!" Lula exclaimed with a huge smile. Dylan nodded, reaching for his laptop and opening it.  
"Now I need you all to let me finish without interruptions." He stated, looking between Lula and Daniel who both looked quite offended, but smartly kept their mouths shut.  
"Novartis. A large personal security company in Southern Switzerland. They steal thousands from the people by hacking bank accounts and adding just a few dollars to every billed paid to them. Novartis is also suspected to be selling the information to other third parties. The people are too poor to hire lawyers and can never scrape together enough proof to point fingers. Many don't even know it's happening or who is causing it." Dylan took a brief pause to get a drink of water. He could tell Lula and Daniel were both bursting with questions. But they held back as their leader continued.  
"Our mission is relatively simple. Expose Novartis with enough evidence that the police can stop them from stealing anymore. We will be joined by Red, the Eyes top hacker. Lula, you and Red will be leaving in three days to scope out a hotel with the closest distance to the company. Red will need the extra time before we can begin to hook up her systems." Dylan took a moment to breath before he nodded, signaling the Horsemen to ask their questions. Lula and Daniel opened their mouths before Jack beat them to it.  
"Why Lula? And why can't the rest of us travel with them?" Jack looked concerned, not liking the idea of his girlfriend traveling so far without him-even more so with a stranger. Lula shot him a glare that screamed "I can take care of myself" but let Dylan answer because she herself was curious.  
"We can't all travel together, it will be too suspicious and dangerous. Lula is going because she is the least- no offense- recognizable Horsemen."  
"None taken." She was, the newest member, so less people knew her face. It made sense. Jack folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, thinking.  
Daniel asked the next question. "What information do we have on this company? Who is our main target?"  
"We don't have much, they have kept everything very tightly sealed. Our main target would be the head of the company, a young man who recently inherited the entire company- Mr. Novartis."  
Lula immediately pulled out her phone and found a picture.  
"Oh he's hot." She said with a small laugh then looked up at Jack.  
"Don't worry, you wear leather jackets which puts you on top of my list." She teased with a wink. Daniel rolled his eyes and pushed Lulas phone down.  
"I'll ask the question we are all wondering. Who is Red?" Merritt asked, cutting off Lula and Daniels start of an argument.  
"Red is the Eyes hacker. She is the reason we can get into most places we can. She's 27 and has worked for the Eye for the past seven years. Red will make sure you get the information you need and will be able to extract the proof we need once we have broken in."  
"And when will we meet this mystery lady?" Daniel asked, slightly annoyed at the newest addition, even if she wasn't joining the Horsemen.  
"Well I was hoping you all would go meet her tomorrow."


	2. Bloody Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Horsemen meet Red and put the first part of their plan to take down the Switzerland company into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only own Red, all rights to their respective owners.

The Horsemen glanced around at each other, trying to gauge each ones reaction. Daniel seemed annoyed, Merritt was quite curious, Lula was honestly excited to be with another girl, and Jack was wary of this stranger his girl would be traveling with. But a few moments later, they all nodded.  
"Great! Be ready by 7!" Dylan said shortly, receiving various groans from the Horsemen. "One more thing, there is an agent from Noti. who will be staying here in London. We will attempt to get as much information as we can from him." Dylan looked at Merritt who nodded. "We can plan for that tomorrow once we have Red." Dylan waited a moment then, receiving no more questions, picking up his laptop and left to work in the quiet of his room.   
"I should probably start packing, seeing as tomorrow we will be busy." Lula said, leaving for her room as well. Jack left a moment later to follow her, leaving just Daniel and Merritt.  
"You seem pissed."  
Daniel rolled his eyes. "What gave it away? The rushed mission tomorrow? Or perhaps that we are sending one of our own to Switzerland with a stranger?" By now, Danny had accepted Lula for the Horsemen she was. The two even started to become friends, trading tricks and working on plans. It unnerved him almost as much as Jack that they would be sending her away. Of course, he would never admit that.  
"I was thinking it had something to do with our latest addition to the the team."   
"She is not going to be an addition, she isn't a Horsemen. If anything, she's just our assistant." Daniel stood up from the table. "I need some sleep." Then left. Merritt finished his drink the moved to do the same.

"I don't like it." Jack complained softly from his spot on her bed. Lula was walking around her room and grabbing various items to pack.  
"You don't have to like it, you just have to deal with it." She shot back. "Plus, in case you haven't noticed, I can take care of myself. So thank you for your concern, but I'm not the weak "girl Horsemen" you all make me out to be. I'm a Horsemen and I know if one of the boys were going, you wouldn't be as concerne-" she was cut off as Jack abruptly stood up, grabbed her waist, and kissed her. Lula smiled, dropping her hairbrush and flashlight on the floor as she curled a hand around his neck and stood up on her tiptoes. Jack pulled away after a few moments.  
"I don't think any less of you Lula. I know your capable. You can do everything the rest of us do and in those insane heels you wear! Can't a guy just be concerned for his girl?" Jack asked with a smile. Lula kissed his nose and nodded.  
"Only because you're cute Jack Wilder." She teased, leaning up to put her mouth to his.   
Dylan promptly walked into the room and coughed. Jack and Lula jumped apart, Jack shooting a glare at the intruder then stopping after realizing it was Dylan.  
"I'll just be going then..." Jack awkwardly said, rushing out the door with a small wave to Lula. The woman crossed her arms and sat on her bed.  
"Can I help you Bossman?"   
"I just came in to make sure you're okay with this, going before us. I know that you will be fine, I just never really gave you the chance to agree."   
Lula nodded with a smile.  
"Oh course I'm fine, it's nothing big. Plus it will be nice to get away from all you boys!" She teased, lightly punching Dylan in the arm. He chuckle slightly, turning to leave Lula to her packing.

Daniel, as usual, was the first one up. 6:20, bright and early. He quickly took a shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a rolled up button up shirt. He decided to take the extra time he had to himself, thinking and shuffling a deck of cards, something he did often to find peace and to calm himself. By the time he got down, the other four were all ready waiting and ready to go.   
"Let me just ask one more time, why must we be up so early?" Lula sleepily asked, leaning against Jack who happily took the chance to put his arm around her waist.  
"Because we are intercepting the Switz agent tonight and we need the time to plan with Red." Dylan answered, not even looking up as his carefully folded maps into his bag. He scanned the room then nodded.  
"Let's go."

The apartment wasn't the nicest of sorts but it definitely was not as gross as the one where the original Horsemen had met. The five of them stood outside the room, five stories up, and waited patiently.  
"Knock again." Jack suggested to which Merritt almost did before the door opened.  
"7:20?! Really Dylan! Goodness get in here." A very angry, and sleepy looking women opened the door.  
"You know that I was up all night intercepting those emails about the Switz agent! Can a girl not get a rest?" She was blonde, a few inches shorter than Daniel-not that he noticed-and still in a t shirt and shorts.  
"No. No this is not happening. All of you sit down, I'm changing before I make a fool out of myself." Then, she left, closing the bedroom door behind her. Jack and Lula sat next to each other on one couch, Merritt and Daniel on the other while Dylan sat in an armchair.   
Daniel looked around, noting the several laptops around the room as well as headsets, earpieces, and knifes? He also noted that she was very well organized, which put him at ease and totally scrapped the image of a messy, dirty, hacker that he had in his mind.  
"What's with the knifes? Planning a murder?" Merritt asked as Red returned, dressed in black skinny jeans with a fit red shirt and a black blazer. Daniel noted the dagger holder on her thigh an quickly looked back up.  
"Well while some of us can throw cards, I throw knifes." She answered with a tone of finality on the subject. Red looked much better now that she was awake. She had even thrown on makeup with further more changed the image Daniel had had in his mind.  
"I'm Red, as you all know, and I already know all of you." She said with a smile. "So! Let's get to this!" Red nodded for Dylan to begin.   
"Tonight is very simple. Jack and Merritt, you two will go up to the room where the Switz is staying. Jack, you will be in charge of getting into the hotel room. Merritt we will need you to hypnotize the agent so that he doesn't remember you ever being there. Red, you and Daniel" Daniel rolled his eyes in annoyance "will check into the room down the hall from the target and be waiting for Merritt to begin the transfer." Dylan gave a quick pause for Red to explain. She pulled out a hard drive and handed it to Merritt.  
"Take this and plug it into his laptop. I will only need a minute to copy data from his laptop to mine. I can unlock his laptop from mine, but that could take another minute tops. So in total, I will need exactly two minutes and 10 seconds." Merritt nodded, pocketing the hardrive. "That shouldn't be a problem."  
"Good."   
Then Dylan continued.  
"Daniel, I need you in the room with Red just in case things go South and the boys need your help. Lula, you will be out in the escape car with me watching the hotel room from outside. The agent is in the third floor, balcony, so we can make sure that if he tries to make a run for it, we can get him. Any question? Good now let's nail the details down."   
The next few hours were spent throwing around ideas and routes to take before the Horsemen solidified their plan. Jack and Merritt went off with Lula to practice hypnotizing her just in case Jack was the one who had to. The Horsemen knew to always have backup plans. Dylan went to call the hotel to check in a room while Red began to set up the earpieces. Daniel sat awkwardly in the room, realizing he had little prep to do before he walked over to Red.  
"Can I help?"   
Red looked him up and down then nodded.  
"You don't like me, but that's okay because I don't like you." She said abruptly, handing him an earpiece to sync in with the system. Daniel opened his mouth then closed it. Then opened it.  
"Why don't you like me?" Not that he cared.  
"Because you think you're all high and mighty. And it annoys me."   
The next several minutes passed in silence as the two worked to sync all the earpieces together.  
Later that night, Red pointed to a few rooms for everyone to change in and the preparation began. Daniel changed into a suit to blend in with high end style of the hotel, Merritt and Jack dressed in waiters outfits to pose as room service, Lula and Dylan stayed in their normal clothing, and Red was dressed in a floor length red dress. Dylan and Lula had just left with Merritt and Jack to drop them off at the side door, leaving Daniel and Red at the entrance.   
"Carry this." She stated, handing him a briefcase that held her laptop.   
"Check in this is Red."   
"Check in Lula."  
"Check in Jack."  
"Check in Dylan."   
"Check in hot stuff." Daniel heard a smack from his earpiece.   
"I mean Merritt. Check in Merritt."  
"And check in Daniel."  
Red nodded after everyone confirmed their earpieces were operational.   
"Okay we are good to go."   
The girl hooked arms with Daniel and put on a huge smile as he led her through the lobby and up to the front desk.  
"Hello, reservation for Niel Harrison."   
The lady nodded and went to get their keys. She returned in a moments a flashed an extremely fake smile.  
"Enjoy your stay Mr. and Mrs. Harrison."   
Daniel nodded and pulled Red straight towards the elevators. As soon as they entered the room, Red pulled her hair back into a ponytail and opened her briefcase laptop.  
"We are all set and ready third floor cameras are frozen."

Jack and Merritt grabbed a room service cart and a platter of food, heading up through the elevators. The doors opened and the pushed it down the hallway. Last minutes, they had decided that breaking into the agents room would be too risky, he could still remember that and call the cops on them. So instead, they were to pose as hotel workers.  
Jack gave three short knocks and stepped back to allow Merritt to get close.  
The door opened to a man in his thirties dressed similarly to Daniel.  
"Can I help you?" He asked with a thick Swedish accent.  
Merritt leaned in close and made eye contact. He began to talk in a low voice and snapped a few times. Nothing.   
"I don't know what you are doing, but I insist you must go."   
Merritt took a step back. It was very rare to meet someone who could not be hypnotized.

Back in their hotel room, Red waited.  
"What's the hold up boys?" She hissed over the coms.  
No answer.   
Daniel paced the room then stopped.  
"The accent."   
"What?"  
"Merritt has trouble hypnotizing people who don't respond to his accent!"  
Red looked up at Daniel.  
"That would be a problem." The responded.  
"Really? You think?" He spit out.   
Red stood up and began to head towards the door.   
"I'll do it just be ready to hit "transfer" on my signal." She said, removing her ponytail and sliding her knife out of the holder. She clenched her jaw as she ran the blade over her hand, drawing blood. At this point Daniel was positive the girl was insane.   
"Be ready for my signal." She said before running out the door before Daniel could even stutter out a word.  
Moments later, Merritt and Jack appeared at the door, confused.  
"Why is she crying? What is happening?" Jack asked Daniel, leaning out of the room to watch Red stumble down the hallway. She turned back and signaled for Merritt to throw her the flash drive then knocked.  
"Look, I told you already-" the man cut off as he saw the crying women.  
"Oh my dear, what happened?"  
"I am sorry sir, I thought this was my room! I'll be on my way." Red sobbed out, backing away while holding her bleeding hand.  
"No! Come in, it's okay we can clean you up."   
Red smiled weakly before stepping inside the room.  
"What the heck is she doing?" Daniel muttered, listening over the earpiece.

"You are very kind sir." He heard her say. Then there was a loud thump and a grunt. Then silence.  
"Red check in!" Merritt loudly said waiting.   
Sill nothing. A minute passed.  
"I'm in. Transfer is ready."  
Daniel was already ready at the computer and clicked the screen. Red came into the room a few minutes later, her hand still covered in blood.  
"Red what the heck happened!" Jack asked as he and Merritt began to clean up her hand.  
"I elbowed him in the face."   
"You did what?" Daniel asked, looking up from the computer to glare at her.  
"We needed the Intel and so I needed him out. Don't worry, he's in his bed with a half empty bottle of wine next to it. He will wake up thinking it was all a drunk dream."  
"You're insane." Jack said with a wide smile.  
"How did you know he would let you in? You look terrifying with all that blood on you!" Daniel came closer and pushed Merritt and Jack out of the way seeing as they had no idea how to fix up her hand.  
"Men are easy and predictable. Blonde helpless lady comes up in tears. What an easy target to take advantage of." She state simply, whining as Daniel tightened a bandage on her hand from the first aid kit in her briefcase.   
"Seeing that you have bandages with you, I'm guessing that's how you got your nickname Red?" Merritt questioned, looking from the knife still in the sink to her bandaged hand.  
"That's a story that doesn't matter right now. We should clear out before Switz wakes up and catches us." Daniel said shortly, moving away from Red to pack up her briefcase.   
"Jack, Merritt you two head down first and meet Lula and Daniel in the car. Swing around front and pick us up."   
The two nodded, taking the cart with them to the elevators.  
"That was incredibly stupid of you. You could have but this whole mission at risk!" Daniel practically yelled, pacing the room.  
"But I didn't." Red shot back, crossing her legs as she sat down on the bed.  
"Risks need to be taken. Believe it or not, just because I'm not one of you doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing. Welcome to the Eye Daniel, we are all capable and smart!"  
"That does not justify slicing your hand open!"  
"Oh please, it's barely anything. It will be closed up by tomorrow." Red stood up and handed Daniel her suitcase.  
"Well now we have to deal with your bloody hand! There goes not attracting attention!"  
"You two do realize we are hearing everything, right?" Lula's voice came through the earpieces.  
"Hold her hand." Dylan ordered.  
"What?!" Both Red and Dylan exclaimed, glaring at each other.   
"Just do it, it will cover up her bandage while you two leave the hotel."   
"And she's pretty." Merritt offered from his end. Daniel could hear giggles and abruptly started to head towards the door.  
"Let's just go." He said shortly, holding the door open as Red scrambled out after him.  
"Cameras are back on." She said quickly, noting the time.  
Daniel hesitated then grabbed her hand.   
"Gosh Daniel I know you hate me and all but could you please ease up a bit." Red teased, causing some more laughter over the earpieces. Daniel didn't respond and the two left the hotel in silence. As soon as they were in the clear, Daniel dropped Reds hand and began to wipe his on his pants.   
"What's your problem?" Merritt asked, opening up the back door of the black van for Red and Daniel to get in.  
"Well thanks to someone's stupid idea, I now have blood all over my hand."  
"Oh stop whining will you!" Red hissed out at him, waving her own hand in front of his face.  
"In case you didn't remember, we have the information we need now! And no thanks to you so back."   
Daniel didn't respond, just crossed his arms and looked out the window. Red waited for his retort, but receiving none, took the time to gather everyone's earpieces. Merritt pulled his hat over his eyes and began to doze off. Jack was leaning his head on Lulas shoulder when he suddenly shot up.   
"I recognize him!" He practically yelled. "He was the one trying to steal your purse!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment any suggestions and reviews!


	3. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Horsemen attempt to find more about the Switz agent, but are grasping at straws. Preparations are finalized before Red and Lula depart for their trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own Red and the Switz. All NYSM(2) characters to their respective owners:)

As soon as the Horsemen reached the safe house, they all scrambled around Dylan and Red, who were both quickly trying to pull up any information about the agent.  
"Lula, check your purse. He may have left something there." Dylan said, trying to think of different possibilities.

She nodded and quickly left to retrieve her bag.  
"Anything?" Red asked, pulling up the companies website and running a face match of all the employees using a picture taken from the hotel room security footage (which she also made sure to wipe from the hotels servers and replace with a looped feed). Dylan didn't reply but stood up as Lula came back with her bag. He signaled for her to throw it at him and he began to search through it with Merritt. Lula stood over their shoulders, making sure nothing unusual stood out.  
"I got a match. Robert Knies, one of Mr. Novartis' top security agents. There isn't much Intel on him, just that he joined up as soon as Mr. Novartis inherited the company." Red began to look through the whole page, her face remaining perfectly calm- completely different from Dylan's scrunched up face as he searched.  
"In fact, it looks like all of the security personnel was replaced with new people."  
"I guess Mr. Novartis wanted people he could trust." Daniel muttered, leaning over the chair to look at her computer. Red nodded, pulling up a few other search engines and programs.  
"And highly skilled. He has ten guards that use to be in the CIA-Special Ops sector, Robert included." Red clenched her jaw reading this, and quickly opened up a new window-which Atlas made sure to note.  
"So these guys are like ex spy's?" Jack asked from across the room. Red nodded again, making sure to close down everything.  
"Dylan if you don't mind, I should really be getting back to my flat, it's almost midnight and I have a feeling I'll be up all night again trying to find why our Switz agent is here." Dylan shook his head.  
"We can worry about that tomorrow, I really need you to get some rest." He said quietly, standing up to walk Red to the door.  
"Please Red, don't open that laptop again."  
She hesitated for a moment, then smiled.  
"Okay "Bossman"" she teased as Lula gave her a high five. Dylan jokingly rolled his eyes.  
"Just get out of here." He said with a smile as a car pulled up.

The night began to wind down after that. Lula, Dylan, and Merritt found nothing out of the ordinary in Lula's purse and could see no sense in trying to stay up any longer, so the five went up to bed. Daniel, of course, stayed up an extra hour at least trying to connect the dots. He kept getting distracted though, by Reds odd behavior towards the Switz ex spy's.  
"I guess everyone has their secrets." He muttered to himself before turning off his lamp.

The next day was mainly spent with the Horsemen on their own. Lula was packing with the help of her boyfriend, Dylan was making sure everything was arranged for the girls trip tomorrow morning, Merritt left to go pick up some milk and eggs, while Daniel was assigned the torture of having to go pick up Red. She luckily, didn't keep him waiting long and was out of the building only a few minutes after he texted he was here using the number Dylan had given him before his left. Daniel rolled down the window and gave a short wave before unlocking the door. Red quickly got in the car and buckled up.  
"Wow, I'm honestly surprised they managed to get you to come here." She teased, straightening her knee high boots.  
"I'm surprised no one has ever shot you for being so annoying."  
Red gave a short laugh, then looked out the window, her hands twirling around the rings on her fingers. Daniels eyes widened slightly as he began to drive.  
"No way, you've been shot before?"  
Red laughed, a normal laugh this time.  
"Oh Daniel, there's a lot you don't know about me."  
"Well maybe... Maybe one day you can tell me."  
"Maybe." She said with a smile to which Daniel smiled back at. He made a mental note to talk to Dylan later on but otherwise, dropped the subject.  
The rest of the day went by rather quickly. Red found nothing as to why the Switz agent had come to London other than it being "a matter of security to Mr. Novartis", Dylan was able to book Lula and Red a room above the casino owned by Novartis. The layout of the building was strange, but did provide an excuse for all of the excess money coming in to the company. The company's headquarters was stationed in the top three stories, the next story was used to house security and various workers, the middle seven stories were hotel rooms, and the bottom level was an extravagant casino. Lula and Red, along with the boy when they arrived, would be staying in the casino. A risky move, but one that could prove beneficial seeing as the would already be past several levels of security as guests of the hotel. Everything else could be cleared using Red or a few simple tricks. As it neared 6 o'clock, the six decided to go out to eat at a nearby Italian Bistro.  
"Just make sure you two blend in. Go out, play some games, just don't do anything to draw attention to yourself."  
Lula and Red both nodded with a laugh.  
"It will be hard, having to go out and party" Lula said with fake pain.  
"But somehow, we will manage. Sacrifices must be made." Red finished, both girls cracking up as the six of them walked into the restaurant. Lula and Jack sat next to each other, whispering into each other's ears, Jacks hand causally resting on her knee. Red sat in between Lula and Dylan with Daniel and Merritt on the other side of the circle booth. They didn't speak anymore details about the mission tomorrow that would give anything away. The plan was for all of them to go drop the girls off at the airport then head back to the safe house to do some of their own prepping. Lula and Red would visit the casino that night to scope out the area then look around the rest of the hotel the next day.  
"So Red, if you don't mind me asking, what started your usage of a dagger? Not ones typical weapon of choice." Merritt asked, leaning across the table. Daniel perked up a bit, looking up from his meal.  
"Guns don't help much when you're in close quarters with someone." Red answered, not looking up from her meal. Merritt nodded and thought to himself. Daniel knew that the older man must have figured something out, but chose not to reveal it just yet.  
"Oh come on Red, you got to give us more than that!" Jack begged, joining in on the conversation. Red laughed and shook her head.  
"It's really nothing exciting, just a safety precaution in the line of work." Daniel and Merritt shared a quick glance that confirmed she wasn't telling the whole truth. But neither of them pushed it as the conversation drifted away from Red and towards teasing Jack for the red sauce on his chin. Daniel didn't like not knowing everything. He was the type of control freak who made everyone wear a tracker, though that was altered slightly because of the incident a few years ago. Daniel knew where his team grew up, their favorite spots, everything. And not knowing anything about Red-even her name was just a nickname-was slowly driving him crazy. But he pushed that away when she caught him looking at her and had the audacity to wink.  
"Okay okay, so I got to know..." Merritt began to trail off, obviously having one too many drinks. Not that the rest of the team was in any better of shape. Besides Red, who didn't drink alcohol, everyone else was slowly ebbing towards getting too drunk.  
"Danny boy oh Danny boy." Merritt continued in a sing song voice. "How did you do that trick. The one with the seven of diamonds on the building." The team laughed, knowing that trick was performed before they were even Horsemen.  
"A magician never reveals his secrets." Daniel teased with a smile.  
"Okay that's enough y'all, I'm taking you home." Red announced, standing up and waving for the waiter. She gave him Dylan's card, which he hadn't noticed until up to that point, and then they were off.

Red stayed at the safe house for the night, knowing they were leaving early. Daniel didn't know why, but he found himself at her door, hand up to knock. Maybe it was the slight rush he was getting from the drinks early that pushed his need for control and knowledge over the edge. Whatever the reason was, he was there and knocked. The door opened, not being fully closed in the first place and the first thing Daniel noticed was Red in the middle of the room with her shirt barely above her belly button. Well that wasn't what he noticed, no what he did notice was the large scar running from her hip bone to the side of her back. Red quickly put her shirt down and stood up.  
"What do you want." She asked quickly, waving her hand a bit to get Daniels attention. He took a few moments to process everything before he spoke.  
"Answers." Boy that sounded more threatening than he meant.  
"I mean, I just want to know more. More about you. And now, more about that impressive scar you have."  
Red looked him up and down before sighing, just knowing he wouldn't take no for an answer. She pointed for him to sit down and closed the door before moving to sit next to him.  
"I was doing a mission a few years back. Get in, exterminate, then get out. Everything went perfectly until it didn't. I was on my way out when a man rammed into me, pinning me against the wall. I was able to get him off with several blows but as I turned to draw my gun, he stabbed me. Well more of a slice, as you could probably tell. Luckily, the other two with me came in at the right time and took him down, tying him up for the police to take. That's when I blacked out. I woke up with my side in a wrapping and was told that I had lost an extreme amount of blood. After that, I was taken off of field missions for awhile to recover and by the time I had, it was decided that I was in too deep and dangerous of waters to be safe. That's when I started hacking to help out in anyway I could." Daniel looked at Red for a few seconds, trying to process everything. Parts of her story didn't make sense, especially with the guns. The Eye didn't use guns or really any weapon at all. But he looked passed that because next thing he knew, he was kissing her. Daniel lurched forward, grabbing her soft face with one of his rough hands and pulling her closer with the other. A drunken impulse, one could say. But one who knew Daniel knew he never did anything he hadn't had the intentions to do. Red pulled back first and smiled, removing his hand from her neck. Daniel was surprise at how tough her hands felt. Smooth and small, but like they had been through a lot.  
"You're drunk Daniel." She said quietly snapping his attention back, knowing full and well that he would have never done such a thing if he wasn't. Daniel shook his head several times attempting to clear his mind.  
"I need to go. Goodnight." He said quickly as he rushed out of the room.  
"Goodnight." Red called after him, still slightly startled and confused.  
Daniel laid awake in his bed, his kind refusing to focus on anything except what had just happened. He went in there to gain control and instead lost it all. He silently cursed himself for being so careless. Then sleep finally came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment with critique and suggestions.


	4. How was it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit more JackXLula in this chapter :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing but characters not in NYSM AND NYSM2

  
Daniel was able to make it through most of morning without having to deal with seeing Red again. He honestly couldn't remember her reaction, besides the fact that she was the one to pull away. Not quite a confidence booster. But not like Daniel cared, because he didn't. No. He was just drunk and that often brought back playboy Danny who flirted with all the girls. At least, that was the excuse Daniel told himself. He was walking down the hallway when Red opened her door and ran into him.  
"Hey Red! Remember those things is your head? Your eyes? You should try using them." Daniel said, annoyed. Red rolled her eyes, pulling out her suitcase.  
"Would you mind making yourself useful and grabbing my carry on?" She retorted, pointing to the smaller bag on her bed. Daniel did, acting like it was a huge hassle for him.  
"What about your daggers?" Merritt teased as Red walked into the living room where Dylan and Merritt were waiting.  
"Oh please, I'm not that stupid." She huffed, setting her suitcase down and sitting on a couch.  
"That's debatable." Daniel said under his breath. Red heard, but chose to ignore him. Daniel wasn't sure why he was feeling so short with the hacker. He just felt annoyed, probably more at himself than her, but she was getting the sharp side of it.  
"But since you're curious, I packed two non metal blades in my suitcase, undetectable by scanners."   
"And how did you come across such a blade?" Merritt questioned, knowing full and well that you couldn't buy something like that just anyway. Red shrugged.  
"A girl has to have some secrets." She said with a wink.  
"Speaking of girls, where is Lula? And Jack?" Daniel asked, taking a seat on the other end of the couch that Red was sitting on.   
"Went to go pick up some breakfast for the two of them. Which means the rest of you are on your own." Dylan replied, taking a bite of his apple.   
Daniel, Merritt, and Red quickly went to the kitchen to look for something to eat while waiting for the couple to return.

Jack knew it was only for a few days. Only three days. And he liked Red, he could tell that if anything went wrong, the two of them could handle it. But that didn't mean he wasn't uneasy. But he made himself set that aside to focus on Lula now, sitting next to him on a bench by the lake, eating a muffin.   
"Don't party too much." He teased, pushing her slightly with his shoulder.  
"On come on Jacky, you know I just can't help it." She pushed him back with a smile.  
"I also know guys can't help it when they see you." Jack muttered quietly. Lula set down her muffin and angled her body so she was more facing him.  
"Jack you know I don't care about any guy besides you. And no guy, save Chris Evans himself, would ever be able to make me forget about you. I don't ever say anything when you're flirting with your audience because I know you are just flirting. So trust me, okay?" Lula finished with a smile, putting her arm around his neck and her hand under his chin.  
"Okay?"   
Jack nodded, looking up at Lula.   
"Let's shake on it." She said with a smirk.  
"I have a better idea." Jack replied before pulling her close and kissing her. His hand found her waist and the other lifted her legs across his lap, resting under her knee. Lula smiled through the kiss, wrapping both arms around his neck to bring herself closer.  
"I love you." He said between kisses.  
"I know." Lula said, making him smile at the reference to his favorite movie before leaning back down. Footsteps made them look up to see, Merritt, Daniel and Red walking up to them with drinks in their hands.  
"Y'all are gross." Merritt said, crossing his arms.  
"You're just jealous." Lula teased, removing her legs from Jacks lap and crossing them.   
"Of you? No. Jack? Maybe." He replied with a wink that made Lula laugh and Jack roll his eyes.  
"You two do realize that we have to leave for the airport in like an hour, right?" Daniel said, coming up with Red behind him.  
"I told you two they would be busy!" Red teased, crossing her arms.  
"Yeah but only after Daniel told you they are always here." Merritt said with a wink. The three of them laughed.  
"Ha ha ha, okay go away." Jack said, putting his arm back around Lula's waist.  
"What are you three doing here anyway? Besides being creepers?" Lula asked, crossing her arms.  
"Well Merritt did come just to be a creeper." Daniel said causing Red to laugh softly.  
"But Daniel and I chose to not starve and use our combined skills to find breakfast."  
"Only after they stopped bickering enough to realize that there was no food in the house." Merritt said with a wink.   
"Anyways, back to the hungry stomach, where did you get that muffin Lula?" Red questioned, taking off a small piece and eating it. "I need one like right now."   
Lula laughed and pointed Red in the direction of the little bakery down the road.  
"Be back by 8:30, okay?" Daniel pointed at Jack who nodded then Lula who gave a salute. Then the three left Jack and Lula to be alone- which was usually a bad idea but Daniel was hungry.  
"I'm appalled Lula let you steal some of her muffin, she usually hits even Jack away from her food." Merritt said with that slightly creepy grin of his. Red laughed and jokingly flipped her hair off her shoulder.  
"It's a girl thing, you wouldn't know."   
Red was picked to go order since Daniel and Merritt didn't want to go through the trouble of some fan recognizing them.  
"Speaking of girl thing, last night I couldn't help but notice you weren't in your room when I came to... Check on you."   
"You mean spy on me when you saw me leave my room?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"Same thing."   
Daniel shook his head.  
"I just needed some water for my headache." He lied, masking it with a yawn.  
"Come on Danny, how long how we known each other?"   
"Too long." Daniel muttered.  
"Long enough for me to know when you're lying. Just tell me or I'll have to make up something to tell Jack and Lula and you know Lula and I will think of something more fun and interesting than what actually happened." Merritt winked and Daniel cringed, knowing he better clear up what happened before Merritt told his version of the story which would probably involve Daniel never leaving Red's room.  
"I just went to talk to Red. We know nothing about her and I wanted to know."  
"And how did that go?" Merritt asked, taking a sip of his coffee.  
"I kissed her."   
Merritt choked on his coffee then began to laugh.  
"Oh is that right?"  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"I mean you're a very attractive male, but Red isn't quite on your type."  
"I'm not following."   
"Oh come on Danny, you like girls who you can cut in half and who believe all your tricks are actually magic. Not a girl who could actually cut you and knows the truth. I mean this girl literally carries knifes around with her I'm surprised you tried."  
"I think it had something to do with the fact that I was drunk..."  
"So?"  
"So what?"   
"So how was it?"  
Daniel paused and leaned back in his chair.  
"It was fine. I mean she broke away pretty fast." It was more than fine but Daniel didn't want to admit that to himself or Merritt.  
"Oh that bad huh?"  
"What's that bad?" Red asked, setting down a tray of various bakery items and siting in the chair in between the two boys. Daniel shot Merritt a glare which he ignored, being Merritt.  
"Daniel's kissing abilities."  
Red blinked a few times and raised an eyebrow, looking between the two.  
"And you've had experience with kissing Daniel?" Red said, slowly smiling. Merritt laughed loudly and even Daniel chuckled.  
"Oh I wish girly, sadly I'm not as lucky as you." Merritt replied with a wink.  
"Okay you two what's going on?"   
"Daniel here and I were just discussing the event that happened last night between you two."  
"You mean when he drunkly kissed me after I told him how I was stabbed?" She said smoothly, opening up her pumpkin muffin. Daniel felt somewhat offended for no reason.... Well maybe it was the fact that she so casually dismissed their kiss and nothing but drunk confusion. Which is what it was... Totally what it was. Merritt laughed again, grabbing his bagel.  
"Yes. Yes that was it." He said with a small grin.  
"Don't worry, Daniel is still available. Feel free to experience his, in your words, bad kissing." She teased, Daniel at this point felt like he couldn't say anything, he didn't know what to say.  
"And what did you think?" Merritt questioned, leaning forward.  
Red tilted her head back and forth with a teasing smile and looked at Daniel, who was already looking at her.  
"I think.... I think it's we should take these to go, I do have a plane to catch." With that, Red gathered her muffin and stood up to wait at the door.  
"It was nothing, really Merritt." Daniel said as soon as Red was out of ear shot.  
"Mmhhmmm. Well I guess we will see."   
Daniel rolled his eyes, picking up his bread, then left for the door with Merritt.

 

An hour or so later, The Horsemen-minus Dylan who had to wait with the car- and Red were standing outside of airport security. Jack was still holding Lula's hand while Merritt went over to give her a hug. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Red asked, looking over at Daniel who shook his head.

"There is nothing to talk about." 

Silence followed for only a few seconds before Red reached her hands over Daniel's shoulders to hug him.

"Goodbye Daniel." She said as he somewhat awkwardly wrapped his arms around her to hug her back.

"I'm not really a huge hug person." He confessed to which the nodded.

"Me either but I thought I would give it a try." 

She stood back on her feet to huge Merritt and then Jack. 

"Don't do anything too stupid." Lula said, pointing at each of the boys.

"You're taking all the stupid with you." Daniel said slowly, winking at Red who pretended to be offended.

"Don't talk to Lula like that." She teased. Lula now looked fake offended and lightly punched Daniel in the arm. 

"Man I'm really going to miss you three." She said with a laugh before Red and her picked up their bags.

Jack gave Lula one last kiss, and she gave him back his belt. Red waved at the three boys then, they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment and give your opinion!!


	5. Switerland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Horsemen all join back together in Switerland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have rewritten this chapter so things make more sense and fit better with the overall story line. Please read and leave any comments and suggestions!

Red and Lula had seats next to each other on the plane, Lula taking the window seat after a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors.

"So," Lula said as the plane began to move, "you and Daniel kissed?"

Red banged her head on the back of her chair and let out a short breath of air. "Goodness who told you?"

"Merritt."

"Of course. No, WE didn't kiss, he kissed me and I stopped it. He was drunk and whatever, it's really not a big deal."

"But you could at least admit you find him attractive." Lula nudged Red with her elbow.

"That's the most I could do, and I won't because I don't. I mean physically maybe, especially since he's grown his hair all messy again. But I mean as far as personalities go, he's bossy, argumentative, and annoying."

"Sounds like you." Lula teased to which Red laughed and threw one of those puke bags at her.

"Okay no more about Daniel, I mean I've known the guy for like two days."

"The way I see it, you're 27 and he's like 28. By now you and Danny have both narrowed down the type of person you're looking for so it's okay."

Red shook her head and smiled.

"You're pushy." She said shortly.

"You're bossy." Lula shot back,  
smiling.

"Enough about this, what is our plan for tonight?" Red asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I say, check in, shower, then paaarttyy!" Lula raised her hands and waved them around, gaining several stares from nearby passengers which only caused the two women to giggle.

The plane began to speed up and both Lula and Red leaned towards the window.

"This is my favorite part." Red said quietly to which Lula nodded.

"Yeah Daniel hates flying-unless of course we are in a jet. Jack doesn't really care, he mostly sleeps, and Merritt loves to talk to everyone on the plane." Lula, leaning back into her chair.

"Daniel hates flying?"

"Yeah. You know, being the control freak he is, not being able to escape really does a number on him."

"You know, I haven't really gotten to know you guys. Like I was kinda just thrown into the mission."

"Well I'm Lula. I like to remove parts my limbs and do tricks with birds."

Red laughed again, as did Lula.  
The girls talked the whole plane ride, relatively short, and were soon standing outside of an impressive building. The building was really high and entirely smooth black, save a strip of white that ran down the left side of the middle, marking a clear elevator. (This wasn't the only elevator, of course)

"Well dang." Red said under her breath to which Lula nodded.

"Dang is right."

"If the outside looks this good I can't wait to see our room!" Red exclaimed, grabbing her luggage and heading inside to check in.

A few minutes later, the girls were running down the hallway and excitedly opening the door to their shared room. It was beautiful inside, red walls with golden trim, one wall with a painted mural of the nighttime city on it, two king sized beds with an excessive amount of pillows, a desk and chair, both black, and a large bathroom.  
The girls both throw down their luggage and launched themselves onto one of the beds, laughing as they landed.

"I could die right now and I wouldn't even be upset." Lula quietly said, stretching her arms out, causing Red to laugh.

"I would be because we haven't even seen the casino yet! Let's go"

Lula nodded excitedly and began to change, Red doing the same. Red's dress was a very dark red fabric that was fit on the top and flowed at the bottom with a lace waistband. She matched it with a pair of black lace up heels that went slightly over her knees and black lipstick.  
  
"Oh not fair you look gorgeous."

"Oh please Lula, have you even looked at yourself."

"You know I have." She winked, both girls laughingly. Lula had on a black dress that was similar to Red's, minus the lace and had a bit more of a flowery skirt to it. She was slipping on a pair of red heels before joining Red at the mirror.

"It's actually not fair you can pull off black lipstick."

"You think I should wear my dagger to complete the look?"

"Oh I know you will."

Red smiled, leaving Lula at the mirror as she put on a deep red lipstick. She did end up strapping a small dagger, about the length of her hand, on her thigh under her dress-just to be safe.

"Ready?" She asked as Lula did a spin.

"Ready!"  
•••••  
A few hours later, close to midnight, Jack pulled out his phone to chat with Lula over a video call while Daniel was reading an article about the Horsemen on the couch across from him. The phone barely rang before she picked it up with a wide smile.

"Well dang you look hot." Jack said glancing at Lula's slightly ruffled hair and still perfect lipstick, giving a low whistle. Daniel let out a short laugh at Jack's blunt flirting.

"Thank you thank you, just got back from the casino!"

"Any thing interesting?"

"Actually yes. Where are the others?" Lula spoke with a half nervous and half amused tone. Daniel knew that probably meant trouble for someone, he was just hoping no one got stabbed in the face or kicked out of the casino.

"Hey Merritt! Dylan! FaceTime!" He yelled out from the living room as Daniel moved to sit next to him on the couch.

"Hello there Lula!" Merritt said with a wave which she returned, Dylan standing behind the couch and Merritt sitting on the other side of Jack . Daniel looked around the screen and scrunched his eyebrows.

"Okay okay so I kinda have some news that may or may not be bad." Lula began, still not sure for herself.  
"Red and I were in the casino partying it up when low and behold, Mr. Hotstu-I mean Mr. Wai came in-"

"That was expected though, after all he does live in the building and is Head of Security." Daniel interrupted, remembering Mr. Wai from the files they all had read earlier. Mr. Wai was a tall man, about Daniel's age with black hair and, what Daniel had to admit to be, an attractive face. "Where is Red?"

"You didn't let me finish Danny-rude." Lula stuck her tongue out at him.

"Continue Lula." Dylan said, shooting Daniel a glare.

"Yes well, you see, Red looked very hot, and we know we weren't suppose to attract any excess attention, but these things can't be helped-"

"Lula to the point!" Dylan cut her rambling off.

"Well let's just say when I left the casino two hours ago, Mr. Wai and a certain hacker were getting fairly friendly on the dance floor."

"What?!" All four boys exclaimed as Lula laughed.

"Honestly, I was pretty disappointed when they didn't kiss but I mean that was two hours ago and she still isn't back."

Seeing the boys still shocked reactions, Lula quickly realized how ignorant boys could be and continued talking.

"Oh come on! Have you four even looked at Red? My goodness, let me tell you, if I wasn't already taken by Jacky over here-"

"Okay okay well good thing is, Red hasn't done anything with the Eye to be recognizable as a threat, so Mr. Wai still won't know we are coming." Dylan cut her off quickly, scratching his slight beard.

"No this is bad. Maybe he knows? Maybe he's trying to trick her! Red knows too much about our operation and the Eye-she has too much access-" Daniel replied, shaking his head.

"Or maybe you're jealous." Merritt retorted slowly, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Boys, lets not start this." Jack said from in between Merritt and Danny. Dylan nodded, silently confused as to what was quite going on. He, after all, hadn't seen Red and Daniel together at all or heard about their kiss. Or not kiss depending on who you asked.

"Well thank you for telling us Lula, please text me when Red gets back so I know she's okay." Dylan said with a nod before getting up and leaving.

"Okay now since we got business out of the way we can get the dirt." Merritt rubbed his hands together, giving a side glance at Daniel who still looked pissed. Lula laughed and was going to answer when the door opened. Red ran and jumped on the bed next to Lula with a huge smile on her face. Daniel tried to look away but couldn't. Yeah maybe, just maybe she was kinda slightly very attractive. But not that Daniel cared.

"Hello boys!" She said in a slightly high voice.

"Well hello there Ms. Flirt." Merritt replied with a wink.

"Oh please, I didn't even try." Lula snorted and rolled her eyes, Daniel did a similar thing but more out of annoyance.

"Okay details now!" Merritt excitedly said, taking Jack's phone.

"Oh no. You give me back my phone so I can talk to my girlfriend."

"I'm flattered, but you're not my type." Red said with a wink as Jack blushed and Merritt and Lula burst out laughing.

"And who would your type be?" Jack shot back, red faced but still smiling.

"Kylo Ren. A girl can't resist a dark haired, moody man now can she? Now goodnight boys." Red left the screen leaving just Lula.

Merritt gave Jack back his phone then left the room. Daniel returned to his spot on the other couch to continue reading but quickly realized he was intruding on Jack and Lula's FaceTime call and left for his room as well.

Right as Daniel was about to open his door, Dylan stopped him.

"Change of plans, we leave tomorrow."

"Wait, why?"

"It's better to move fast with this plan and I really don't want to put it off anymore. The girls have already confirmed that Mr. Novartis is in fact in the building and how causal he is with the guests." Daniel rolled his eyes. "Most business owners of his stature wouldn't for safety reasons. This means he is confident that no one knows what's up which gives us the proper gap to get in and try to steal as much information as we can."

Daniel nodded then tried to open his door again.

"Daniel, is there something goin-"

"No. Nothing." He cut his boss off, opened the door, then promptly shut and locked it behind him.

Honestly, it was one kiss. Not a big deal and it wasn't even a full kiss. Daniel still found himself going to bed with a thorn in his side.  
••••  
Morning came rather fast, much to Daniel's disappointment. He and the three other boys quickly grabbed something to eat then headed for the train station, the airport being too risky given that they had to put on slight disguises-namely sunglasses, hoodies, and ball caps. They bought their tickets separately and sat in different compartments. The train ride took about four hours, given that it was the new "high speed" train. Upon arrival, the boys met at a diner across down the street to call up a car from members of the Eye stationed nearby.

"We should change now, the car is almost here." Dylan stated, grabbing his bag and taking out his suit.

"Jack you wait here with the bags until the rest of us get back."

The youngest man nodded, taking a seat and propping his legs up on his suitcase. Merritt, Daniel, and Dylan returned moments later, each dressed in a suit-Merritt opting for a dark red suit, Daniel in classic black, and Dylan in a dark grey. Jack leapt up with his suit-black as well-and left to change. All this was to fit in with the style and class of the hotel, although they hadn't planned on going out that night. Dylan looked at his phone then out the window.

"Ride is here." He said, pointing at a long black car.

"A limo?" Jack exclaimed excitedly, coming back to the table. "No way!"

"To keep fit the image of the rest of the hotel goers and to fit all of us. A limo seemed smart." Dylan stated as the four of them rolled their bags out to the car.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the casino hotel. Dylan went to check them in while Jack pulled out his phone to call Lula, letting her know they were in the lobby. Merritt let out a whistle, taking a slow circle to fully look around.

"Well dang. I could get use to a place like this." He muttered, Jack nodding as he too looked around. Dylan returned with two pairs of keys.

"Okay so we have two rooms. Daniel and Jack, you two take one, Merritt and I will take the other."  
The boys nodded, each taking the appropriate key.  
••••  
Lula and Red were down in the casino, bottom level, when Lula got Jack's call.

"They're here! Floor above us checking in!" She said with a smile. Red gave a fake frown.

"Oh but I've been having so much fun without all those boys."

"I know you have." Lula winked at Red and the two girls stepped onto the escalator.

The moment they stepped off, Lula was attacked and lifted off her feet.

"Jack!" She softly yelled, smacking his arm. "Put me down before someone kicks us out!" She teased, leaning down to kiss his nose.  
Jack set her down, but still kept her in his arms.

"Goodness, it was only one day!"

"I know I know." He said before kissing her lips.

Merritt turned to Daniel and shrugged towards Red. Daniel looked confused and Merritt laughed.

"Well then I'll do the honors."  
Merritt walked up to Red and attempted to pick her up like Jack had done to Lula. This caused all the Horsemen to start to laugh. When he could barely lift her on her toes, Red kissed his cheek with a laugh.

"It's the thought that counts, right?" She teased. Daniel rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed and something else...

"Let's head up before anything else weird happens." Dylan said lightly, still smiling at his Horsemen and Red.

The six of them got into one elevator and headed up to the sixth floor. Slightly crammed because of space, which was annoying to Daniel but what was more annoying was Lula's humming and chattering as she rambled on about something Daniel couldn't care less about. They finally reached the seventh floor and Daniel about jumped out of the elevator. He had never been a fan of cramped up spaces, especially when you were stuck in them with someone as annoying as the female Horsemen.

"You okay there?" Red teased, bumping her hip on Daniel's, causing him to wobble a bit.

"Just not a huge fan of the selection of elevator music." He replied dryly, dragging his suitcase down the hallway with the others.

"Try sharing a room with her. Let me tell you, I got serenaded every time Lula took a shower with some random Chinese songs."

Daniel couldn't help but laugh, the Horsemen all occasionally got songs stuck in their head from their adventure in Macao.

"Oh trust me, I've heard plenty." Daniel replied, looking back at Lula who was patiently answering all of Jack's questions.

"I bet Merritt and Lula could through down a pretty sick karaoke duet. Especially if they're drunk."

"Now that, I would like to see." Daniel admitted with a small smile, reaching to find his room key in his side pocket.

"Maybe once this is all over, we can go to some ratchet karaoke bar and celebrate." Red said as she leaned against the wall next to his room. Daniel switched to his other pocket then looked up only to find Red twirling his room key between her fingers.

"Lula may have taught me a thing or two." She said with a smirk as Daniel snatched the card out of her hand and opened his door.

"Oh boy." He muttered as he went in, followed closely by Jack who gave a small wave to Red and hurried in. Daniel glanced up at his younger friend and laughed.

"Red scare you?"

"Dude don't even." Jack curtly replied, setting his suitcase on his bed.

"Me too Jack. Me too."

  
Minutes later, all the Horsemen and Red where sitting in the girls room. Dylan took the desk chair, Merritt in the cushioned armchair in the corner, and Jack with Lula on her bed. Seeing no other option and not wanting to awkwardly hover, Daniel took a seat on the opposite side of Red on her bed.

"Okay you two, what did you find out?" Dylan asked, holding his fingers up to his mouth.

"Well the security in the building is extremely complex. Most of it, I won't have direct access to from here. Everything will have to be done the old fashion way, mainly on site. This means that I will have to be in the security room to loop feeds on the monitors of any staircase, elevator, or floor you Horsemen will be on." Red nodded at Lula for her to continue.

"The floor right above the guest hotel floors houses the guards and staff. Which means if we can get a card, we will have access to that level. So Red and I were thinking one of us will need to pose as a waiter or cook to keep the area around the elevator clear. Mr. Novartis's office is only accessible through a private elevator on the staff floor." Lula finished, letting Red continue.

"I just need one of you to plug this flash drive into the computer and I can begin the download process. Very similar to what we did at the hotel in London except more security and guns and I will be staying inside the upper security room the entire time." Dylan and Red exchanged a quick look when she said this, to which he nodded.

"I have to ask, how did you find all this out?" Merritt said with a wide, knowing, smile.

"Well most of it, we could figure out just by looking around." Red answered quickly before Lula could.

"But Red here managed to squeeze little bits of information out of Mr. Wai and a few of the guards." Lula said with a wink to which Red threw her hands up barely past her head.

"Guilty as charged."

"So what's the plan ?" Daniel asked, moving the conversation away from Red's flirting skills. Dylan rubbed his head, thinking.

"Lula, you're on the staff floor. I need you to make sure the area around the elevator is clear. Jack, Daniel, and Merritt, you three will head up to meet Lula on the staff floor. Red and I will take care of security on the main floors so you can move up unseen then handle the security on the office floor when we get up there. Red, you stay in the upper security room while the Horsemen and I get into the office and can begin the transfer. Questions?"

He was met with none then nodded.

"Lula and Jack, come with me. We need to get two security ID's and uniforms as well as a staff uniform for Lula. Red, can you alter the ID's when we return?"

She nodded, pulling out her laptop. Dylan nodded a few times then left with Jack and Lula following close behind. Merritt left next, mumbling about needing sleep after such a long plane ride and dealing with annoying young people. Daniel was about to leave when Red grabbed his arm.

"Wait, can we talk?" She asked somewhat awkwardly, which only made Daniel nervous.

Cautiously, he sat down on the bed next to Red, his eyebrow raised. "What about."

"Tell me something about yourself." She blurted out.

"What?"

"I don't really know much about you and tomorrow we will be breaking into an office illegally so I thought I should try and get to know you."

Daniel's eyes flickered back and forth from each of her eyes-which he noticed without really noticing that they were a light grey-for a few seconds before shrugging.  
"Not really much to tell..." He said, moving his eyes to look down at his hands.

"Okay well what got you into magic?"

"Lionel Strike. I never got to see him perform live, but I found a book of his once and I couldn't put it down. Got my first pack of cards when I was 12 and well here I am." Daniel gave a small smile. "Okay my turn to ask a question. What's your real name?"

Red tilted her head back and laughed. It was a cute laugh, not the kind girls used when they wanted attention but it was a nice laugh. Daniel blinked a few times, focusing back on Red and away from her laugh.

"Well I guess I should have seen that coming. Lanora Petturi."

"Why don't you go by it? Lanora?"

A look flashed across her face for only a second at this, but Daniel caught it-guilt.

Red was quick to put back on her confident smile. "Because Lanora is an old name. It's too sweet and "pretty". No one took me seriously as Lanora so I went by Petturi then kept my nickname, Red."

"So I'm guessing I can't call you Lanora or Petturi?" Daniel asked with a small smile spreading across his face. Red shook her head and let out a laugh.

"Oh not a chance, Danny!" Daniel rolled his eyes at his nickname.  
He noticed that at sometime while they were talking, they had moved closer to each other. Not that he actually noticed, of course, he wasn't measuring the mere inches.

"And why is Red your nickname?"

She shook her head.  
"Not telling. Sorry, some secrets have to remain as such."

Daniel looked annoyed, mainly because he hated not knowing something.

"Hey don't give me that look, I told you about this." She said, pointing to her scar. Daniel tilted his head back and forth then sighed. Red was like him, no matter how hard someone pushed, she wouldn't say anything she didn't want to. He admired that in her, but right now it frustrated him.

"Okay fine, but one day I need to know."

"Why? You don't trust me?"

"Trust you? The girl who carries a dagger with her? No Red, I don't trust you, not yet. You have too many secrets." Daniel said quietly.  
It was true, her story with the guns, her daggers, nothing added up in the way it should. Hard to trust someone you know is keeping big secrets.

"That's fine, one day I'll tell you. Just not now, not here." She replied softly.

Daniel left after saying a quick goodbye to Red to prepare for tomorrow. There wasn't too much preparing, after all-this was the work needed to be done before their main show; exposing Novartis. So after taking a quick shower and making sure his clothing was somewhat wrinkle free, Daniel decided to try and sleep. 


	6. Public Displays of Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission begins for the Horsemen and Red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and reads!!

The next morning, Red and Lula went down to breakfast together around 9am, both forcing themselves to get up.

"Are you nervous?" Lula asked as she stirred berries into her oatmeal.  
Red shook her head a few times.

"Not really, I mean I guess it's nothing I haven't done before. Besides, I won't be onsite this time-which is boring."

"You mean to say you've done this before? Broken into a top security office?"

"How do you guys think all that information ends up in your hands? Someone has to get get it. "Red replied with a wink. "It wasn't me, but one of the other hackers found out about OCTA. He had to literally had to go to OCTA's office as well to extract the files needed to prove the criminal actions of the company. Though what we are doing is much more difficult."

"Red you are so cool."

"I know."

••••

Daniel stayed in his room, ordering room service for breakfast. Jack did the same then went to one side of the room to practice throwing some new cards made of a heavy material that were meant for blunt force instead of thin slicing. Dylan came in a few minutes later with Merritt to run through a few things. Red and Lula joined them around 10am to finish up planning out everything.

"We will move as soon as I see Mr. Novartis enter the casino. I want all of you to already be at the casino to look out, including you Red."

She opened her mouth to protest that she wasn't needed on the floor but was cut off.

"As soon as he is spotted, you and I will head down to the security rooms. There are no female security workers, so you'll just have to stay dressed up.... And be... well-"

"I'll be your lovely visitor. Continue." Red said with a smirk at which Lula laughed and threw a pillow at Red.

"There will most likely be up to three armed men waiting by the elevator, but Red and I will handle them on our way up." Daniel couldn't help put glance at the knife still strapped to her thigh.  
Dylan must have noticed because he shook his head.

"No we won't hurt them," he gave a pointed look to Red who nodded, "My gun has knockouts in it instead of bullets, and Red is going to use weighted cards."

"What about Mr. Novartis? We can't guarantee that he will be in the casino nor that he will stay there." Jack asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Once Red and I are in the upper floor security level, the rest of you go up the elevator and into the office. If we see Mr. Novartis coming up, you will be notified over the com as to what to do. Most likely, it will be to get out of there as quickly as possible. Building safety codes require stair cases on every floor, so use those." Dylan said, pointing on a blueprint map. "Or," he exchanged another glance with Red who looked down at her hands then back and Dylan. "Or we have a few other ideas as to how to throw him off."

Daniel wanted to ask about these "other ideas", but was once again cut off.

"Lula, you leave before Red and I do. Change then go straight up to the staff floor. We will let you know when the other Horsemen are on their way up. Make sure the area is clear. Daniel, Jack, and Merritt. You three will leave once Red, Lula, and I are in position. Head straight up to the elevators. Red and I will already be in the office security room, so you should be clear. Find the file access point and plug in the flash drive."

  
They broke soon after that, Lula left to "go prepare her limbs", Merritt went to find a drink, Dylan had a few calls to make, and Red stayed in with Jack and Daniel in their room. Dylan had decided that Red should learn to throw with the heavy cards since they were similar to her dagger, but wouldn't be as dangerous. Jack had quickly picked up how to counter for the extra weight and was showing Red on the side of the room.

"So I don't know how to throw a dagger or anything, but a card, I can teach you. Even Merritt picked it up!" Jack handed half the weighted deck to Red and kept the other half in his hand.

"Start with the card here," he moved her hand a little ways away from her head. "Then bring it forward like this." Jack rolled his wrist, flicking it ever so slightly. "Then release." He did the whole thing slowly once, then again as full speed, this time letting go of the card. It slammed into the pillows they were practicing on.

"Your turn."

Red took a deep breath then narrowed her eyes. She followed Jack's moments and released the card.

"Ow!" Daniel yelled out from his bed across the room, rubbing his arm and holding the card in his hand. "Watch it Red!"

Red and Jack stifled a laugh as Red went to go pick up the card.

"If I kiss it, will it make it better? Or can you man up and deal with it." Red asked smoothly, taking the card from his hand and walking back towards Jack.

Daniel didn't reply, but did make sure to watch her next attempt to make sure it didn't hit him. Red moved in front of the pillows and took another breath. Daniel thought it was odd that Jack didn't correct Red's technique since it had so obviously failed. Red brought her arm back then threw it. The card landed perfectly in the center of the pillow. Daniel shot up in his bed.

"You hit me on purpose!" Now Jack was cracking up as Daniel glared at Red. When she started to laugh, he couldn't help but quietly laugh as well. He picked up his pillow and chucked it at her, nailing her straight in the face.

"Wow Daniel can throw something." Red said with a smirk as he stood up. She tossed the pillow back at him.

"Thank you Jack." She said with a wave as she took the deck of cards he handed her and left.

"She already knew?"

"I mean close enough. Small knifes and weighted cards are about the same." Jack said with another laugh before jumping on his bed.

"It's nap time." He muttered before turning around. Daniel himself didn't fall asleep, but he did take the quiet time to think.

  
••••

"Okay go party kids." Dylan said with a laugh over the earpieces around 8pm from his room, the rest of the Horsemen were in Red and Lula's room.

"I'm older than you, but I'll gladly take any chance to party." Merritt replied with a laugh.

"Boys leave." Lula said, heading towards her closet to change out of her day clothes.

"Shouldn't we wait for you in here?" Merritt asked with a wink towards Red, placing his hand on her shoulder with a fake look of concern. She rolled her eyes and before removing her dagger hoist.

"Probably not the best idea." She replied, twirling her dagger back and forth. Merritt raised his hands slightly and took a step back.

"I could actually use a drink, come on boys." He said, putting his arms around their shoulders.  
Red moved towards the door and opened it, letting the three leave.

Lula and Red quickly changed and headed out to meet the boys. Red wore a black dress that went right above her knees, hugging her figure perfectly, with sheer sleeves that reached her elbows and a would be backless back except it too was covered in black sheer. She paired her outfit with a pair of black skinny heals, a maroon matte lipstick, and had pinned her hair up.

"I swear you're lying when you say you're a hacker?"

"And why's that?"

"Hackers aren't suppose to be so HAWT!" Lula said with a wink as they stepped into the elevator. Lula was wearing a red dress that went right at her knee with a slit ending inches above it. She wore lace tights and black heeled booties with her outfit.

••••

  
Merritt was at the bar, attempting to flirt with the barista there, Daniel and Jack were sitting next to him casually talking. The doors to the elevator opened and the two girls stepped out into the casino. As soon as he saw Lula, Jack stood up and looked her up and down and smiled.

"If you would excuse me boys." He said, not taking his eyes off of Lula as he walked, practically ran, across the casino to meet her. She opened her mouth to say something but was quickly distracted by Jack's lips on hers and hand on her waist. Red quickly walked away, not wanting to intrude on the couples make out sesh. She scanned the room, looking for the other two Horsemen.

Daniel couldn't help but do a double take when he saw Red and ended up staring. She was gorgeous with that beautiful, but deadly look to her that was currently driving Daniel crazy. He hadn't noticed he had been staring for so long until Merritt elbowed him in the ribs-snapping him out of his trance.

"Hey close your mouth-it's not an attractive look for you." The older man teased, taking a drink before turning his chair to look at Red. He let out a low whistle and patted Daniel on the back.

"Daniel take this from an expert on women, she didn't dress like that for you to creepily stare at from a distance. Go or I will."

Daniel nodded, smoothing down his black button up shirt before standing up to walk over to Red.

"Hey." Daniel said with a small smile, silently cursing himself for sounding so lame the moment the words left his mouth.

"Hey." Red replied, smiling back.

"You care to dance? With me I mean?"

"Only if you let me do this." She replied before quickly unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt and ruffling his hair. Merritt choked on his drink from across the room. "Much better, much more you."

Daniel laughed before cautiously taking Red's hand to lead her to the dance floor.

"There isn't anything I could do to make you look better." He froze and whipped around. "Wait that came out wrong, I didn't mean you don't look great quite the opposite you look absolutely stunning like-" Red cut him off by laughing.

"I know. Don't worry." She said with a smirk. A smirk that made Daniel have the urge to kiss it off. But he didn't. After all, he didn't actually intend to kiss her the other day, and he didn't want to mess anything up-because he was quite good at messing things up. So instead, he laced their fingers together and put his hand on her waist. Red seemed to stiffen up at his touch before relaxing. Daniel didn't know what to think about this, so he chose just to ignore it. After all, she was still here.

"Red? When I kissed you-"

"Daniel please. I don't want to sound rude, but we should just drop that because it didn't mean anything. You were drunk and I was not expecting that." Red cut him off, wanting to just move past the whole situation.

"Red let me finish. When I kissed you, part of it was drunk instinct, yeah. But the other part, the part that caused the instinct was the feeling of tension when I get around you. And I don't know what it is. We are similar, we both are honest and assertive, so that causes us to clash. Maybe that's what I was feeling? I don't know. But I wanted you to know that I didn't just kiss you because I was drunk. I did mean it in some weird way."

Red was silent for a few moments before she looked up at Daniel who began to smile.

"I would kiss you right now but I'm still not sure about that dagger of yours."

••••

The two swayed back and forth to the slow beat of the song, Red laying her head on Daniel's chest. Unbeknownst to them, Lula had taken a picture and was giggling with Jack. Daniel also didn't notice the Lula leaving and Jack moving to the bar. They continued to talk about various things, the Eye, magic tricks, and little things about each other. It was nice for Daniel to finally get to know someone who didn't care about how famous he was.  
A voice in their eyepieces brought Daniel back to reality.

"It's time to move, Mr. Novartis just walked in. Red, I'm heading towards the escalator, meet me there. Daniel, Merritt and Jack are at the bar. Wait there until I give the all clear." Then silence. Daniel couldn't help but feel annoyed when he had to take his arms away from Red, so he did so slowly, just as she pulled herself away from him.

"Daniel-" She began before being cut off.

"Red!" Dylan's voice rang through her earpiece. Daniel nodded to her with a small smile to which she returned and quickly left.

He sat next to Jack and Merritt at the bar, ordering himself something, then looked down at his cup. Merritt moved from his seat next to Jack to move next to Daniel and patted him on the back.

"He man perk up, she isn't gone forever."

Daniel snapped his head up.  
"What?!"

"Red. I saw your face man, don't worry, you'll have another chance." Merritt winked and Jack began to laugh.

"We were just dancing. In case you didn't notice, everyone here is dancing. It would be kind of obvious if we were to just-"

Jack slid his phone over, shutting Daniel up. Daniel glared at Jack before looking at the phone. It was a picture. A picture of him and Red dancing. The moment when he wanted to kiss her-you could certainly read it on his face. Daniel cursed himself for being so obvious and oblivious. Merritt and Jack smirked at each other then had the audacity to high five over his head.

"I-"

"Oh can it Danny. Your mind may not realize it, but your heart does." Jack said, downing his drink.

"Realize what? How I still know nothing about her? Can we just focus on the mission right now...." Daniel's voice trailed off as he saw Mr. Wai coming down the escalator towards Red and Dylan.  
His jaw dropped when Dylan put his arm around Red's back and kissed her.

•••

Red met Dylan at the escalator, he was dressed in a black tux with his ID badge tucked inside his pocket.

"We need to go up a level first then use the elevator to get down." Dylan said quietly to Red as the stepped on the escalator, him one step above her.

"You have the flash drive, right?" Red whispered, looking around. She froze as she saw someone coming towards them.

"It's Knies."

Dylan didn't turn around.

"Crap. We can't get off." He muttered trying to think.

"Have you seen The Winter Soldier?" Red said with a small smile.

"What does that have to do-"

"Public displays of emotions make people uncomfortable." Red said with a smile.

"Yes, they do!" Dylan quoted before putting his arm around Red and kissing her. Red moved her arm around his neck to further block their faces as Mr. Wai passed right by them. They broke apart and quickly left the escalator towards the elevators.

•••

Merritt opened his mouth to respond as Red and Dylan left the elevator but was cut off by Dylan's voice.

"Lula are you set?"

"All set up here Bossman." Jack smiled slightly at the sound of his girlfriends voice.

"We just reached the lower security room." Dylan said. There were muffled screams and thumps that followed before the earpieces went silent.

"Red and I are moving up to the upper levels, the room here is secure and the elevators and cameras are on a looped feed."

It was about ten minutes before Dylan and Red spoke again.

"We are in." Red's voice rang through Daniel's ears.

"Jack, Merritt, and Daniel. That leaves you three."

"Dylan and I should be able to get the elevator to go straight up to the staff floor, so you shouldn't encounter any unforeseen difficulties there." Daniel clenched his jaw, something Merritt and Jack sure noticed, as Red finished speaking.

"Get up there, Lula will join you. Lula make sure the area around the elevator is cleared out." Dylan continued as the three boys at the bar stood up and searched the room.

"Got it."

"Okay, good luck Horsemen."  
Then the earpieces went silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep on leaving your thoughts and any suggestions.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and review!


End file.
